Composing machine



June 3, 1941. c. A. MACOMIC COMPOSING MACHINE Filed Dec, 16, 1939 16 Sheets-Sheet 1 jifWiZ/Uf Ce zfer'JZ Jcama'a WM xflarreeya (i. A. MACOMIC 2,243,875 COMPOSING MACHINE June 3, 1941;

Filed Dec. 16, .1939

16 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 3, 1941. c. A. MACOMIC COMPOSING MACHINE Filed Dec. 16, 1939 ,I6 Sheets-Sheet 3 v .0 W r a 6 & m W Z m .Q 1% W M a W June 3, 1941. c. A. MACOMIC COMPOS'ING MACHINE 1s Sheets-Sheet 4 I Filed Dec l6, 1939 i a M June 3, 1941 C.-A. MACOMIC 3, 5 GOMPOSING MACHINE Filed Dec. 16, 1959 16 Sheets-Sheet 5 16 Sheets-Sheet 7 c. A. VMACOMIC A l I GOMPOSING MACHINE Filed Dec. 16, 1939 June 3; 1941.

June 3, 1941. c. A. MACOMIC COMPOSING MACHINE Filed Dec. 16, 1939 16 Sheets-Sheet 8 June 3, 194-1. Q A, MACQMIC 2,243,875

COMPOSING MACHINE Filed Dec. 16, 1939 16 Sheets-Sheet 9 June 3, 1941. Q omg 2,243,875

COMPOSING MACHINE Fil ed Dec. 16, 1939 16 Sheets-Sheet 11 June 3, 1941. Q A MACQMIC 2,243,875

COMPOSING MACHINE Filed Dec. 16, 1939 16 Sile ts-Sheet 12 June 3, 1941. 3; A, MACQMIQ 2,243,875

COMPOS ING MACHINE Filed Dec. 16, 1939 16 Sheets-Sheet l3 June 3, 1941. c. A. MAC'OMIC 2,243,875 COMPOSING mourns Filed Dec. 16, 1939 16 Sheets-Sheet 14 63 Jaw/may? /M,m v

June 3, 1941. c. A. MACOMIC COMPOSING MACHINE 16 Sheets-Sheet l5 Filed Dec. 16, 1939 I V672 far far a? J'acawz '0 Patented June 3, i941 CUWOSHNG i=3 Chester A. liiacomio, Chicago, fill. Application December 16, 1939, Serial No. 309,629

(El. 27M) 20 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in com posing machines and the like, and has for one object to provide a new and improved type of composing machine whereby printing characters.

may be set, selected and assembled in successive justified lines by the use of the ordinary typewriter and whereby a series of characters may be easily and acurately assembled in a line and mounted in a suitable bed frame for longitudinal reciprocation. Means are provided whereby the type bars may be sel'ected or arrested in their longitudinal movement at such points for each bar that the characters on the bars will form a Figure 7 is a longitudinal section illustrating v part of the restoringmechanism.

Figure 8 is a'longitudinal section showing the driving head end ofthe type bar with the parts line of type characters, one on each type.

bar, so as to produce a line from which 'a printed impression may be made. My invention includes a suitable mechanism which may be presented to and receive an impression .from such line of assembled type and a series of mechanisms controlled by an ordinary commercial typewriter whereby the operator may write a line, which by operationof my device will thereupon be reproducedby a proper assembly and positioning of the type bars. There are also means associated with each type bar whereby the line may be automatically justified to compensate for variation in the widths in the characters in the line while still maintaining lines of equal length.

My invention'is illustrated more or less diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through a.

part of my composition machine, showing the typewriter and other elements part in section and part in elevation, showing the pattern bed in the upper position.

Figure 2 is a section on a. larger scale taken on a plane similar to Figure 1, showing the pattern bed in lowered position.

Figure 3 is a similar section on enlarged scale illustrating the shift mechanism.

Figure 4 is a section on a large scale illustrat ing the stop mechanism applicable for both long and short travel of alternate type bars. I

Figure 5 is a section similar to Figure 4 illustrating especially the justifying mechanism.

Figure. dis a section through the printing mechanism showing the parts in printing position.

in the restored position. 1

Figure 9 is a plan view of part of the mechanism.

Figure 10 is a section along the line iii-l0 of Figure 9.

Figure 11 is a section on an enlarged scale along the line il-ii of Figure 1.

shift Figure 12 isa plan view of the: parts shown in Figure 11. r

Figure 13 is a section on a large scale along the line i3i3 of Figure 7.

Figure 14 is a plan view of the pull bar which propels the type bars.

Figure 15 is a plan view of the initial restoring mechanism, the view taken in the'direction of the arrow IS on Figure '7.

Figure 16 is a plan view with parts omitted of the type bars in justified and assembled position.

Figure 17 is a plan view of the drive head end of the type bars in restored initial position as shown in Figure 8.

Figure 18 is a transverse section along the line l8-I8 of Figure 8.

Figure 19 is a plan view of head or drive ends of two adjacent tapered type bars.

Figure 20 is a side elevation of Figure 19.

Figure 21 is a plan view of the tail or justifying ends of the type bars shown in Figure 19.

Figure 22 is a bottom plan view of Figure 21.

Figure 23 is aside elevation of Figure 21.

Like parts are indicated by like characters in the various figures.

The general type of mechanism, that is to say the drive mechanism, supports for the squeeze the frame and supporting mechanism, except where they form an essential part of the elementsshown in any of the figures, are omitted.

I is a side-frame, there may be one or two or more. They are joined' together by frame members 2-3, supported on the cross member 2 is a typewriter 4. It has a shift key 5, a space bar 6, and a series of character keys 7, all of them mounted on suitable levers common to the ordinary type of commercial typewriter.

Mounted on the cross member beneath the frame member 2, and the typewriter ii, are a plurality of levers. The lever 9 is connected by means of a link it, to the space bar. The lever ilhas an extension I2, associated with the lever whichsupports the shift key 5. The levers i3 carry pivoted thereon extensions M, guided in the typewriter comb plate It, and having heads id, each'associated with one of the typewriter character keys, one key controlling each lever.

Mounted between the frame members i are a plurality of channel shaped plates or shutter bars ii. They are pivoted as indicated at E8, and placed side by side along an inclined plane beneath the frame 2. Each of these shutter bars has a tail piece i9, each tail piece has associated with it a spring ill, the springs being anchored on a frame 26; all of the springs tending to rotate the members i? in a clockwise direction to the raised or starting position.

Each typewriter key controls two typewriter characters, the shift mechanism of the typewriter is used, therefore, first to selectthat one of the two typewriter characters which is to be selected by each key in the usual manner, and secondly, to position a pin in the pattern bed and associated at such a place thatit will control the positioning of a type bar as will hereinafter appear. This is accomplished by the typewriter in. the following manner: 22 is a. slotted lever opposed to a slotted lever 23 and working in opposition thereto, they are both controlled by the typewriter shift key 5, as will hereinafter appear. These levers terminate adjacent to one another and the slots in the two levers are in alignment. Each lever has an ear E k-25, links 26-2? being connected respectively to those ears, each link in turn being connected to one of the tail'pieces E9. The links may, as shown in Fi ure 3, be connected to adjacent tail pieces or they may be connected to widely spaced ones depending upon the position of the desired character on the type bar because in view of the differentwidths of the different letters, the letters on the type bar do not bear the same relationship to their neighbors as the characters on the typewriter key. There is one pair of these levers 2223 for each typewriter key.

28 is a comb plate, the upper and lower faces of which are curved (concave or cylindrical in shape) as indicated at 29 and 30 respectively, concentric with the centers of rotation of the links 22 and 23. 3i is a pin carried on the lever tZjwhich lever is adapted to be actuated by the link 33 from the character key lever it, there being, therefore, a separate connection between each typewriter key and its associated lever 32, g

and there being one lever 32 for each'pair of slotted levers Hand 23.

3d are guide plates secured to either side of the frame i, in which shoes 31-48 (Figures 3, 9 and are free to slide, these shoes being joined by cross members or combs 35-36.. The comb plate 28 is fixed in position adjacent the path of the shoes.

39 are linlm pivoted on the shoes 3i38, and

' supported by levers 40 on a cross shaft M, upon which is a lever 62, actuated by a link 43 from the shift key actuated lever H. A spring 62a normally holds the parts in the position as indicated in Figures 1 and 2.

The operation of this device is that th pin 3i, controlled by one of the typewriter keys may actuate either the lever- 22 or the lever 23. n the typewriter shift key is in the normal or lowercase position the pin M will remain in engagement with link 22, and whenever either lever of a pair is moved into the angular position the pin associated with the pair of levers will be held in the slot by the curved surface 29-30 of the comb plate, so that it is never possible for an improper manipulation of the typewriter shift key to break the connection between the typewriter key and one or other of the shutter plates or bars ill. The single typewriter key may control the selection of adjacent characters on the type bar or if the characters are widely spaced upon the bar as necessitated by the difierent widths of the different characters, then a single typewriter key may select widely spaced charactains a row of plungers 5?, each of them normally retracted into the upper position by springs 58, and at the lower end a space bar plunger 59, retracted by a spring 69. The plungers 51 are each of them controlled by one of the shutter plates i'i. The plunger 59 is controlled. by the shutter bar 58. The purpose of this last element will hereinafter appear in connection with justification.

The typewriter carriage, the usual manner, controls by mechanisms not here illustrated as they form no part of my present invention, the position of the plunger carriage, the plunger carriage moving back and ,forth across the type bars in unison with the typewriter carriage. The plunger carriage, therefore, moves back and forth beneath the edges of the shutter bars l8, and no matter where the plunger carriage is'it will respond to the movement of any one of the shutters tending to depress one of the plungers and in turn project one of the stop pins in the pattern bed. It will be understood that. there are as many'plungers 5'! as there are characters in each type bar. The type bars are parallel with the plunger carriage and the pattern bed now to be described is interposed'between the plunger carriage and the bank of type bars. in the pattern bed the desired stop pins to arrest each one of the type bars in a position such that the desired, type face will be presented to the printing mechanism.

The pattern bed comprises a generally rectangular frame 65, which is supported in a cradle, generally indicated by 66 (Figures 2 and 4) The lower end of the cradle is pivoted on one or more links t'l, whereby the pattern bed may be lowered or raised by any suitable means not herein shown, since it forms no part ofthe present invention. .Suitable supporting means are provided at the upper end of the cradle, to

as it reciprocates in The plunger carriage selects.

' are long pins.

pattern pins H, which are held in position by flat springs 12.

The pattern pins are recessed as at 272, in order to receive the correction bars 13, mounted in a frame M. The pattern pins 75 are in opposed pairs so that each restoring bar it actuates two banks of pattern pins ii. The pattern pins are normally in the upper position and held in whatever position they may be placed by the springs 72. After a line has been selected by the manipulation of the typewriter to depress a pattern pin into such position as will hereinafter appear, in the place necessary to present the desired printing character for printing, the pattern bed, which during the time selection is taking place is raised away from the type bar group, is lowered automatically to bring the pattern bed into register with the type bars so that the pin may operate to arrest or stop or select the proper character on its type bar.

As will hereinafter appear, the pattern pins are arranged in groups, parallel with the type bars, all the pins in one group are long ones extending down to the bottom of the pattern bed; all the pins in the next group are short ones, terminating at a point well above the bottom of the pattern bed. The pins l l, shown in Figure 4, are short pins; the pins 15, shown in Figure 8, The pins are recessed as at 212 just like the pins ii. The pins, both long and short, are held in whatever position they may be left by the mechanism by the springs above referred to, but the springs holding the pins by friction leave them free to move under the influence of the selecting or the resetting mechanism. All the pins are controlled by the correction bars 13, and the frame M, and so far as the setting or selecting of the pins, and their correction or return to the starting position is concerned, they are identical, the only difierence being in their length.

Travelling upon the type bar bed, 68, between guide blocks ll-18, are type bars T9-8ll. The letters, characters and assemblies on the type bars arearranged in order of width progressively from the widest character at one end down to the narrowest character at the other end. This line would tend to be curved, or at least not be in proper alignment. By reversing each alternate bar in this manner the wide portion of one bar-being adjacent the narrow portion of the next one, the bed is maintained at proper width, and a smooth, each contact of all the bars is permitted.

Because of this reverse arrangement of the characters on the bars, it is necessary to arrest adjacent bars at different points to get the same letter and so the long pattern pins directly contact the drive heads 8i, associated with the bars results in a tapered type bar, because the width of the baris only sumcient to provide space for the character. Each alternate bar is reversed with respect to its two neighbors (Figures 19-21), so that since half the bars are wide at the left-hand end of the bed and the other half are wide at the right-hand end, the assembly is generally rectangular.

The bar 19, for instance, has the wide letters adjacent the drive head, the bar has the narstance, being narrow, there being many intermediate variations. If all the wide letters were at the same end of all the bars it would be impossible to hold the tapered bars together without an inordinately wide bed and distortion of the bars would result when justifying, and the 19, and the other means must be provided to arrest and engage the drive heads 82, associated with the bars 80. r

This means includes an endless ball chain 83, in a closed ball race M, held by the ears -iib, and rods 81, in the spaces between each alternate pair of guide plates 69. The short pattern pins H are associated with the bars 80 and control them through the ball chains, being associated with narrow guide plates 88, which terminate above the ball races 84. In the alternate spaces between the ball races the long stop pins 15 are associated with intermediate guide plates we. The pattern bed thus comprising a series of alternate long and short, pattern pins associated with a series of narrow and intermediate guide plates and associated also with a series of wide guide plates (Figure 13).

At their ends the narrow guide plates 38, as indicated at 89 and 90, extend downwardly beyond opposite ends of the ball race to guide other pattern pins as will hereinafter appear, and also to give support and rigidity to the structure. The race 84, in which the ball chain 83 travels, is exteriorly slotted at 8| in Figure 13, and there are interposed in the ball chain two diameterically spaced carriages 92-93 (Figure 7). Each carriage 92, has a stop member 94, which extends downwardly toward the lowerportion of the pattern bed into substantially the same position as the ends of the long pattern pins. Each carriage 93, has a pivoted link .95, free to rotate in a clockwise direction against the tension of the spring 96, but limited in its movement in a counter-clockwise direction by an abutment 9611.

When the pattern bed is lowered to bring it into a position such that it may cooperate with the bank of type bars, each of the members 34 til is in line with its associated drive head, but the member 94, unlike the long pattern pins does not of itself arrest the motion. of the type bar because of the-negligible friction in the ball chain, so that as the type bar comes forward to engage the member stop 94, it pushes the member along with it. The stop effect is obtained by the short pattern pins and 'is effective only when the trigger member 95 has been pushed around by the movement of the drive head, to bringjthe member 95 into engagement with one of the short pattern pins.

By this arrangement one-half of the type bars are arrested by direct contact with the long pattern pins, and the other half are arrested indirectly by the short pattern pins throughthe intermediary-of the ball chain and the two diametrically opposed stop members carried by the chain. Because of the'fact that the drive head pressure is applied on one side-of the closed chain loop, and the stop pins are on the other side, the direction of pressure applied to theshort pins is opposite to th direction of prestwo adjacent oppositely disposed type bars, it is possible to position type bar 80 in juxtaposition to type bar l9, so that type bar 80, for instance, may travel a greater distance than type bar I9 to put, for instance, two capital Ls whichare differentially positioned on the type bar into the same printed line.

When the pattern bed is in its upper position the correction frame M, and correction or restoring bar l3, rest against the pattern bed. The stop pins project above the frame and are free to .be depressed to select a pattern by the mechanism previously described, and when the pattern bed goes down to be brought into operative association with the type bar assembly, the pattern remains unchanged. After the pattern has been selected and the pattern bed has gone down and the type bars have as a result been assembled in the line, it is necessary to bring the pattern bed back to the starting position so that the next pattern may be selected. Automatic means, not shown here, cause the restoring frame to go up more rapidly than the pattern bed so that all of the pattern pins are raised to the starting position so that when the pattern bed reaches the upper limit of its excursion it catches up with the restoring frame leaving the pattern pins,free to be again selected and set.

All of the stops associated with the ball chains, however, must also be restored and this is accomplished by means which will hereinafter appear,

I is a pull bar (Figures 1-14) It is caused to reciprocate by means not here shown. The link I05, pivoted to the driving shoes I02, carrying the bar I00 exemplifies such means. The

bar I00 has a diagonal edge I03, notched at I 06,

-working through the chain assembly above described. -The drive bar I00 is pivoted on a cross bar I06, on pivot pin I01. I00 is a guide slot associated with a stop pin I09 at the other end of the bar W0 and cross bar I06. The arrangement is such that for movement toward the right in Figure 2, for restoring the type bars to the startingposition, all the type bars are simultaneously restored, but when moving toward the left in Figure 2, it might happen that all the letters in the "line were the same, in which case the load on the mechanism involved in releasing all the spring latches I05 to release all the latches at once would be too great. The pivoted bar. enables successive latches to be released thereby distributing the load.

7 Associated with the drive bar I00, is a chain stop restoring member IIO, supported on levers III, and urged to counter-clockwise movement .by a spring II2,' tending to raise the restoring member above the drive bar, which movement is limited by the rollers II3 which engage the under side of the pattern bed, thus as the pattern bed moves up out of working nelationship with' the type bars the restoring member follows it upwardly until it is in line with the stop members 94; then as the cross bar I06 moves to the right (Figure 2), carrying the drive bar with it the chain stop restoring member engages all of the chain stops 94 to return them and their associated chain structure to the initial starting position. When the pattern bed is brought down to select the next pattern, the rolls H3 depress the member IIO so that it does not interfere with any of the pattern pins or chain stop members.

If it should happen that-no character had been selected on any one of the type bars subject to the control of the stop pins 96, such type bar in that case carrying a quad, as such type bar moves toward the printing position it pushes the stop member 94 out of the way to the position shown in Figure 5. When this happens the reset member IIO cannot get hold of the member 04 to return it, someans must be provided to move such stop member back into the path of the reset member H8.

The shaft II rotatably mounted in the pattern bed 65, has associated with it a lever H5 and a-link IIS pivoted on one end of the lever and on the other end on a fixed abutment. Upward movement of the pattern bed rotates this shaft. The lever II? on the shaft is in pivotal relationship with the link I l8, which link carries a pin H0 free 'to travel along the slot 220, the pin as it travels engaging the stops 9 5, rotating or propelling the chain in counter-clockwise direction a. distance sufficient to bring the stop member 9% into line with and, therefore, subject to be engaged by the member H0, so that the upward movement of the pattern bed before the drive bar and associated parts start back to the initial position operates to both return the stop pins to the starting position and to return the stops 94 to a position where they may be reset.

The shaft Ht extends clear across the frame. The pin I I9 extends across and through the guide plates of the pattern bed. There is a lever Ill and a lever H8 for each space in which a ball chain is found, so that each chain is' separately returned to a position where the reset member H0 may engage it.

With respect to those type bars which in the assembly of any line will not present characters for printing, there are three possible positions and three possible means of control. The type bar may be arrested by the justifying stop pin I20, or if that pin is not presented to it, it may be arrested by the normal quad stop pin I2I, or if that is not used it will be positively and finally arrested .by the fixed stop or abutment I22.

The justifying pattern pin I20 will be depressed by the plunger 59, controlled by the space bar. When this happens the type bar is arrested with a quad in the printing line, in such case the quad forms part of the justifying means.

V Each type bar carries its own separate justifying means, comprising two flexible, spaced spring members'l 23-424, there being spacers 325 between them at the normal quad position to maintain them parallel and in alignment.

- .At the justification point these spring menibers I23 and I24 have opposed buttons I'25 and I26. In front of these buttons pivoted between each pair of spring members I23 andI24 is a justifying wedge I21, having a tapered edge I28 adapted to engage the buttons and spread apart the spring members I23-I24. 

